The Grove
by Vol lady
Summary: Jarrod and Maggie's new home is ready and they move in. They also make some other decisions about the future, and confront the unexpected.
1. Chapter 1

The Grove

Chapter 1

July 1880

The three Barkley men wandered in after five o'clock in the afternoon, sweaty and grimy from the work they'd been doing all day. Nick headed straight for an armchair in the living room, his brothers lagging a little behind. He aimed to sit down but his mother popped up from the settee with her wine in one hand and the other hand raised.

"No, Nick, you're far too sweaty to sit down in that chair!"

Nick stopped. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"We all are," Jarrod said as his mother sat back down. "But we got everything moved." He smiled at his wife, who also sat on the settee. "The house is all ready for us to just slip in there tomorrow."

Their home – "The Grove" – had been finished about a week earlier, and Jarrod and his brothers had been moving furniture, clothes, and other of his and Maggie's things over there all week. Now, except for the last bit of clothing, it was done.

"Go clean up and change your clothes," Victoria said.

"Yes, ma'am," Heath said and he and Nick headed upstairs.

Jarrod took time to kiss his wife first. "Be back in a few minutes," he said, and then he too was off upstairs.

"They've worked really hard all week," Maggie said. "I hope Jarrod's told his brothers how much we appreciate it."

"I'm sure they know," Victoria said. "They're close. Sometimes they seem to know what's going on with each other without even asking. So, are you ready to move into your new home?"

"I'm excited," Maggie said. "It's in a beautiful spot. I know we'll be happy there."

Victoria and Maggie chatted for a while longer, and then Heath came down to join them. He was clean and dressed in clean clothes and headed straight for the refreshment table for a bit of whiskey. Then he claimed the armchair Nick had been heading for.

"Boy, howdy," he said as he sat. "It feels good to sit down."

"Moving in July probably wasn't the best thing we could have done to you," Maggie said.

Heath smiled. "It's less smelly than herding cattle."

"How did everything go?" Victoria asked.

"Just fine," Heath said.

Maggie knew she was going to have to ask directly or she wasn't going to get a straight answer. "Did Jarrod have any problems?"

Heath looked like he didn't want to say. He said quietly, "One angina attack, but it wasn't much. We sat him on the sofa and he took a pill and five minutes later he was up and at it again."

Maggie eyed him to make sure he was telling her the whole truth. For extra measure, Victoria eyed him, too.

Heath said, "Really. That's all it was. That and Nick dropped a box on Jarrod's foot, left him limping for a couple minutes. Don't worry, everything was fine."

Maggie smiled and sipped at her wine. Nick was bounding down the stairs and was at the refreshment table pouring some whiskey within moments. "Glad that's over," he said, and then turning to smile at Maggie said, "We did a real good job if I do say so myself."

"Except for dropping the box on Jarrod's foot," Victoria said.

Nick gave Heath a dirty look. "Had to tell them that, didn't you?"

Heath shrugged. "They asked."

Jarrod was down only a minute or two later, and he too hit the refreshment table first. "I think you're going to be pretty happy with how things shaped up out at The Grove," he said to Maggie as he walked up behind the settee with a scotch in his hand. He reached down with his free hand and rubbed his wife's shoulder.

Nick raised his glass. "Here's a toast – to Barkley Brothers Moving Company, our newest business venture!"

Heath and Jarrod lowered their glasses with a groan. "Not a chance, Nick," Heath said.

"All right, then, here's to The Grove," Nick said, and everyone raised glasses again. "May there be happiness and love and lots of kids in its future."

"Here, here," Jarrod said, and they all drank to it.

XXXXXXX

Everyone went over to The Grove in the morning – Jarrod and Maggie by buggy, and Nick, Heath and Victoria on horseback. Two saddle horses – Jingo and Candy – were tied behind the buggy. In the back of the buggy they had packed the last of Jarrod's and Maggie's clothing, so that now, everything that was supposed to be at The Grove would be there.

When they arrived, they hitched all the horses for the time being and went inside, leaving the luggage until later. Jarrod wanted Maggie and Victoria to see how everything looked, and he hoped he had gotten everything right – the sofa facing the fireplace, the armchair slightly to its side, and everything else where Maggie had wanted it.

Maggie looked around carefully, with Victoria right behind her. The men waited in the living room, to be ready to move whatever they had gotten in the wrong place. But after she looked around, Maggie nodded and smiled. "Yes," she said. "It looks great."

"You didn't look in the nursery," Heath said.

Maggie looked surprised. "We don't have any nursery furniture yet – " And then she looked at the smile on Jarrod's face. "Do we?"

Jarrod took her by the hand and led her into the room they'd designated the nursery. There was one piece of furniture there – there on the floor, under the window that faced back toward the grove of trees they loved, was a small cradle.

"Oh!" Maggie said and went to it. It was a little difficult – Jarrod had to help her – but she knelt down on the floor, looked at the tiny piece of furniture, and gave it a rock. "This is adorable."

"It was mine," Jarrod said, "and Nick's and Audra's and Eugene's, right after we were born."

Jarrod helped Maggie stand up again. She kissed him. "I love it. Thank you, Victoria. It's perfect."

Maggie gave Victoria a hug. "And everything else is where it belongs?" Victoria asked.

"Perfect," Maggie said, and looked at Nick and Heath. "Thank you, both of you, for everything."

They both touched their hats. Nick said, "Well, if we're finished with our work here, we got fences need mending. Wanna come, Jarrod?"

"No, I think I'll spend some time with my wife before I dig into those contracts you left me, and I need to get ready for that meeting with the army the day after tomorrow," Jarrod said.

As Nick and Heath turned to go, Victoria said, "Let me walk you out. I want a word before you take off today."

Jarrod and Maggie saw them to the door, waved good-bye, then came back in to get comfortable together on their sofa in their new home.

Victoria waited to make sure the door was closed before she turned to her sons, as they untethered their horses. "I need to have a serious word with you," she said.

They both drew close to her. Heath said, "Sure."

"There's something I want to talk to Maggie about and I don't want to do it without talking to the both of you first. It's about – later."

"Later?" Nick asked, thinking she meant later in the day. "I figure they'll come by for drinks and dinner whenever they want."

"Yes, but that's not what I mean," Victoria said and took a deep breath. "I mean – after Jarrod isn't with us anymore."

Both men straightened uncomfortably.

Victoria's voice wavered, but she got it back. "I want to ask Maggie to stay with us, for as long as she wants, even after Jarrod is gone."

"Well, sure," Nick said. He really hadn't given it any thought at all, but of course they would ask her to stay. That always seemed understood, maybe because it was too painful to actually talk about.

"And to either stay here or come back to the house to live, as she chooses," Victoria said. "I don't want to ask her to come back to the house without your permission."

"Of course, you have it," Nick said.

Heath nodded, but said, "Are you sure you want to talk about something like that today?"

"No, not at all," Victoria said, "but at some point it may seem natural to talk about it with her. I wanted to know how the two of you felt about it."

Nick kissed his mother's forehead. "We feel the same way you feel."

Victoria nodded her thanks and then said, "And something else. I want them to keep the buggy and old Clara, too. A housewarming gift."

Old Clara was the horse they always hitched to this particular buggy. There was more than one buggy at the ranch, but Clara seemed very uncomfortable with any one other than this one.

"Sounds great to me," Heath said.

Victoria nodded her thanks again. "I'll go tell them about the buggy, and after a while I'll head on home."

Nick and Heath mounted up, gave her a good-bye wave, and headed off to work.

Victoria heaved a sigh, getting rid of the catch in her throat, and went back inside.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When Victoria went back inside, she found her son and his wife sitting together on the sofa, Jarrod with his arm around his wife. He looked back at his mother coming in the door. "So what was all the secret talk about?" he asked.

Victoria was able to smile and tell him only half of it. "Oh, well, we were discussing a housewarming gift for you."

Jarrod laughed. "The gift was the house!"

"Well, partly maybe," Victoria said and sat down in the armchair. "But we want you to have the buggy and Clara, too."

Jarrod's and Maggie's eyes went wide.

"You're going to need a buggy," Victoria said. "Maggie's horseback riding days are over for a while. And neither Jingo nor Candy is much of a draft horse, while Clara is not much good with any other buggy."

"That's lovely, Victoria," Maggie said. "Thank you so much. You've given us much, I don't know what to say."

"You've said it," Victoria said. "Now, may I make some coffee for us?"

Jarrod popped up. "No, that's my job today," he said and went into the kitchen.

And then stopped.

"Something wrong?" Maggie asked.

Jarrod turned around. "I don't know where anything is, do you?"

Maggie began to laugh. "Actually, no."

"Well, I guess I'll have to hunt," Jarrod said.

Victoria's eyes sparkled as she settled into the armchair and looked at her son and his wife settling into their new home. "After some coffee, I'll need to be getting back to the house. Audra is coming over later and we're going to work on more of those thank you notes for her wedding gifts."

"There must be scores of them," Maggie said.

"There are," Victoria said, "and Audra is the procrastinator in the family."

"I've always tried to break her of that," Jarrod said, finally finding the coffee and now in search of the pot. Then he saw it on the stove, where he realized he should have looked in the first place. He began to make coffee.

"We can't all be as punctual and organized as a lawyer," Victoria said.

"Well, this organized lawyer can't find the cups," Jarrod said.

Maggie laughed. "Keep looking. They're in there somewhere."

XXXXXXX

Nick and Heath were working on repairing part of a barbed wire fence that had come down when a tree fell on it. It was becoming late morning, and they had finished up and were reloading the wire and tools into the wagon they'd brought out, when Heath rested his arms on the wagon and Nick took a drink of water from the canteen.

They hadn't talked much all morning. Something about what their mother had said before they left The Grove had them both reflecting quietly, but now Heath said, "You know, we got a lot of things to think about – about the future, about Jarrod."

"Things I don't want to think about," Nick said.

"Things we have to think about," Heath said. "Mother is going to be too torn up to think about them when it happens, and we don't know when it's gonna happen. We need to be ready, you and me."

Nick looked over at him. "Do we need to be ready right now?"

"No, I don't think so, but I'm not sure. I know Mother started me thinking about things. I suspect she started you thinking about things, too."

"Yeah," Nick finally agreed and slammed the canteen down in the wagon. "I just don't want to." The anger began to rise up inside him. It hadn't done that before, but now he wanted it to. He was angry about a future without his older brother. He wanted to be angry and stay angry.

Heath saw it. "Look, I don't mean we have to plan for everything, just maybe get it set between the two of us, who's gonna handle what, or who. Mother's gonna need somebody, Maggie's gonna need somebody. You and me need to know how we're gonna take care of them."

Nick heaved a sigh. "We could pretty much toss a coin to decide that."

Heath immediately pulled out a coin and tossed it. "Call it."

"Heads," Nick said.

"It's heads. Who will you look after most?"

Nick thought about it. "Mother, I guess."

"Then I'll look after Maggie. Carl can look after Audra."

"Well, yeah. Look, I don't want to talk about this anymore today. We just decided enough."

"Okay," Heath said.

They both put their shirts back on and climbed into the wagon. Nick was set to drive, but he hesitated. He had calmed down a bit. He had begun to understand that Heath was right, they had to be ready for the future. "You know," he said, "there's gonna come a time Jarrod's gonna want to talk about this. He's gonna need to know we got the family taken care of. So he doesn't worry."

"I know," Heath said. "I expect we oughtta let him tell us when it's time."

"But you were right. We oughtta get it settled between us, how we're gonna handle this. I'm not sure he needs to know who's gonna take care of who, but he needs to know enough to settle his mind some."

They looked at each other.

Heath said, "If he took us aside today and said he wanted to be sure his family would be taken care of, what would we say?"

Nick thought about it. "I'd say Heath and I have talked about it, and we've talked to Mother about it, and whatever Maggie wants, she'll have. Whatever she needs, we'll provide it. Whatever his child needs, his uncles with give it."

Heath smiled a little. "That's a pretty good thing to say, Nick."

"Enough of this," Nick abruptly said and slapped the reins, and they didn't talk about it anymore.

XXXXXXX

Jarrod and Maggie spent the first night after dinner on the porch swing, enjoying the cool breeze and listening to it rustle through the trees down in the grove. They didn't even say much, just held hands, Maggie's head on Jarrod's shoulder. Until suddenly Maggie said, "Oop!"

"What?" Jarrod asked.

Maggie had sat up straight. "Wow, what a kick!"

Jarrod put his hand on her swollen belly, and he felt another kick. "He is a strong one, isn't he?"

"I just hope he's not too eager to get out," Maggie said. "I'm not really ready for him to show up yet."

"You're not due for another three months or so. I doubt he's doing anything other than rearranging the furniture."

Maggie laughed and settled back again. "He'll be here before you know it, and our lives will be turned all around again."

Jarrod thought about that – and he thought ahead, to more children, or maybe not. He kissed Maggie's forehead and brought her head to rest on his shoulder. "Can we talk honestly?"

"Always," Maggie said. "What's troubling you?"

"Not exactly troubling. I've just been thinking how lucky I've been, but I have a bigger responsibility coming. I can't just depend on luck."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I have to – WE have to start thinking ahead. I have to make sure that everything is settled for you and the baby – for after I'm gone."

He hesitated, but Maggie knew better than to cut him off. Even though she wasn't sure she wanted to talk about what he wanted to talk about right now, he needed to. And he was right. It was wise to have this conversation now, before she was too uncomfortable with the baby inside her, before he was born and took all of their time and attention.

Jarrod knew her silence was an invitation to keep talking. "I want you to give some thought about what you'll want to do after I'm gone," he said, keeping his emotions in check. "I know we've talked about it a little before now, and we'll talk about it more in the future, but the more we can plan for that time now, the more at ease I'll be with what's got to happen."

Maggie was still quiet.

Jarrod went on. "Money won't be a problem. We've got quite a lot in the bank, what with the sale of my practice and the house in San Francisco. You'll be able to take care of yourself and little Jarrod Junior and any brothers or sisters he might end up having. But will you want to stay here? Will you want to go back to San Francisco? Have you thought about that sort of thing at all?"

"Yes, I've thought about it. I haven't talked about it because – well, I suppose whether we stay here or not depends a lot on what your family has to say."

"I know they'll want you to stay, if you want to."

"They haven't said."

"I suppose they don't want to think about it anymore than we do. But we have to, you know."

"I know. We're having a child, and it's the sensible thing to do. I guess we better start looking for the right time to talk to your family."

"Would you like to stay here?"

"Yes, I think I would, but I don't really know for sure. I've only been here for a few months. If something happened before I'd been here for very long – well, I don't know, Jarrod."

"Would you like me to talk to my mother soon?"

Maggie was quiet for a long time. She finally said, "If the moment appears and it seems like it's the right thing to do – I suppose so. Or would it be best to see if she brings it up?"

"I'm not sure," Jarrod said. "It's been a lot tougher to talk to the rest of my family about my situation than it has been to talk to you."

"Mmm," Maggie said, understanding. "They're still grappling with it, maybe even more than we are."

"I've always been the take charge man in the family," Jarrod said with a little chuckle. "Kind of stepped in when my father died. Even helped raise Audra and Gene. I've been trying to keep Nick in line since the day he was born."

They both chuckled at that.

"I don't think they've been able to look to the day I'm no longer here," Jarrod said, "or at least they haven't been able to talk to me about it. We might have to prod them into it."

Maggie rubbed Jarrod's arm. "Let's let it brew a bit longer, unless the time comes they bring it up, or an opening appears. I'm certain you're not going anywhere anytime soon, and I'm not comfortable with the idea of prodding any of them yet."

Jarrod smiled. "I'm very definitely planning on being around for a while – especially to have time to roughhouse around a little bit with Jarrod Jr."

"Boy, I don't know. He's awfully strong already. He might be able to tackle you before he walks."

Jarrod laughed. "Then I'll send in Nick to rescue me. I can just picture Nick rolling on the floor with our little boy."

"I think we're both going to be startled if it's a girl."

"If it's a girl, she'll be the most beautiful girl ever born, and she will be spoiled rotten by her father and her uncles." Jarrod kissed Maggie on her forehead and rubbed her abdomen. "Whoever this little person turns out to be, we'll make sure there's plenty of love around, forever."

Jarrod lifted his wife's chin, and they kissed, and then they listened to the rustling of the leave again for a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next couple of days found Jarrod and Maggie settling in to their new home just fine. Maggie was feeling a bit stronger without stairs to deal with, and even Jarrod appreciated that amenity. Two days after they moved in, Jarrod needed to go into town to meet with representatives from the army about selling some cattle. After the meeting, he spent a little time visiting with Sheriff Madden to catch up on what was happening around Stockton. Then he even spent an hour or two playing poker and drinking at the saloon.

Maggie was happy to let him cut loose for a while. It gave her time to catch up on the book she was trying to read and to walk about the house, planning a flower garden and a vegetable garden for next year. She was visiting with the horses in the barn when she heard someone ride up. Thinking it was Jarrod, she went out toward the front of the house. But she saw Heath dismounting and tethering his horse.

"Heath!" she called.

Heath turned and greeted her with a smile. "Afternoon!"

Soon they were together. Maggie pushed her hair out of her eyes. "It's good to see you. What brings you by?"

"Nick's been anxious to hear about Jarrod's meeting with the men from the army," Heath said.

"Well, he's not home yet," Maggie said. "I told him to take the time to see some friends and play a little poker."

Heath laughed. "Maggie, Barkley men don't play 'a little' poker."

"Well, he still ought to be back any time now. Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?"

"Thank you, I will. I'd rather talk to Jarrod and not have to face Nick without any information about that meeting."

Maggie led Heath inside and quickly poured him a cup of coffee in the kitchen. She handed it to him and motioned him to sit down on the sofa. He decided he'd sooner sit at the kitchen table, and they sat there together.

"So, how are you feeling?" Heath asked.

"Oh, pretty well," Maggie said. "I'm getting ready for this baby to be born, but I know I still have three months or so to go. How is everybody at the ranch?"

"Just fine. We do miss you both. I think mother misses your company during the day."

"I miss hers. Tell her to please come by whenever she wants."

"I think she knows that. She just didn't want to barge in too soon."

"There's no such thing, not where any of you are concerned."

Heath smiled. "You know, you're so much like my mother, I'd swear you were born a Barkley."

Maggie laughed. "Maybe that's why Jarrod chose me!"

Heath sipped his coffee. "You know, I don't suppose Jarrod's ever told you much about me, about my background."

"Well, I know you had a different mother, and that you came here not quite five years ago."

"I was born illegitimate. I didn't even know Tom Barkley was my father until right before I came here, when my own mother died. To this day, I can't believe this family took me in the way it did – me, mad as a boy can get and ready to take them all on if they denied me."

He paused. Maggie said, "They didn't deny you."

"Well, it was a rocky start, but I'm kind of amazed how well it turned out, and how fast it happened. Nick and me, we're two of a kind in a way, so as you can imagine, we butted heads a lot at first, but now – I can't imagine my life without him in it. And my mother – I call her my mother because she is in every sense except I wasn't born to her – she and Jarrod were the first to accept me. It's a warm and loving family, Maggie. I want to make sure you know that."

Maggie thought she understood what he was getting at, but she didn't know how to get through the opening he was making. "I do know that."

"I don't know how to bring this up, but I just want to. Jarrod means the world to me. You know that."

Maggie nodded. "I know."

"And so do you. You mean the world to all of us. Well, I just – " He didn't know how to continue.

Maggie smiled. "I think I understand, Heath. None of us knows what lies ahead, not really. I hope I can be part of this family for the rest of my life."

"You will be," Heath said. "That's the kind of family they are – we are. Once a Barkley, always a Barkley."

They heard a horse riding up just then. Heath got up and looked out of the window.

"That's Jarrod," he said. "He's gone to put Jingo up, so I guess he'll be a few minutes. Would you mind if I went to talk to him in the barn?"

"No, not at all," Maggie said. "Stop in and say good-bye before you go though?"

Heath finished his coffee and smiled. "I will."

Heath took himself outside, not hurrying. Jarrod would have to dismount and see to Jingo and Heath didn't want to rush right in on him in the barn. But when he got there –

Jarrod was on his knees, behind Jingo's stall, doubled over and fumbling for pills. Heath hurried to kneel in front of him. "Jarrod – do you need help?"

Jarrod shook his head, taking a pill and putting the bottle away inside his jacket. "Angina," he said. "First one in days. It'll pass."

Heath looked up at Jingo. Jarrod hadn't even gotten the cinch of the saddle undone. The attack must have hit him as soon as he dismounted, or even before. "You want me to see to Jingo for you?"

"No!" Jarrod shouted.

Heath was startled.

Shouting made Jarrod double over more. Heath just stayed with him, saying nothing.

Jarrod tried to breathe more evenly, waiting for the attack to pass, but this time was different. Before, he could always settle into it, let it work itself away, but now – God, why? – he couldn't let himself ease up. All could feel right now was pain – and anger.

Anger about the pain. Anger about the disabling pain and about Heath thinking he had to take care of his horse for him. Anger about being found on his knees on the floor, not even able to stand up.

Anger was turning into rage. It wasn't helping his pain, but he couldn't stop it from happening.

As Heath watched, he heard Jarrod begin to make almost animalistic sounds under his breath. Every time he tried to exhale, it seemed the sounds got deeper and angrier. This was different from that night in the alley. That night he seemed to just go with the pain until it went away. Now he seemed to be fighting it for all he was worth, but he was losing to it. It was just getting worse.

"Jarrod," Heath said, "try to relax – "

"Leave me alone, Heath!" Jarrod growled. "I'm tired of this! I've had it up to my eyeballs with this!"

"Jarrod, the more you fight it, the more you hurt."

"Don't preach to me, Heath!"

Heath stayed quiet then. He only now realized he had his hands on Jarrod's shoulders. He took them away, but he did not get up until Jarrod began to struggle to his feet.

And then Jarrod lost it. Still hunching over, he saw the stands the saddles were kept on – one was empty, the other held Candy's saddle. Jarrod threw himself toward them and shoved them over with a roar, and then he started looking for anything else he could ravage. He saw the tack for Candy and Clara on the wall, and he tore it down. He started to turn on the horses.

Heath wasn't going to let him go after the horses – they would win that battle and he might end up with a hoof in the head. Heath grabbed him and shouted, "Stop it, Jarrod! Get hold of yourself!"

Jarrod growled, but then he began to let go. As he went limp, Heath steered him to a bale of hay and sat him down on it. As soon as Jarrod was down, Heath looked over his shoulder. Maggie wasn't there. She apparently hadn't heard the rampage.

Jarrod eased up, closing his eyes. After a minute or two, he said, "I'm sorry, Heath."

"Is this the first time you've exploded?" Heath asked.

"This much, yeah," Jarrod said, still not opening his eyes.

"What brought this on? Trouble in town?"

"No. Just the opposite. I guess having a few days when everything went well just – I don't know. This angina pain hit and all of a sudden, I couldn't stand it anymore."

Heath knelt down in front of him. "Bout time you got mad at it."

"Doesn't pay," Jarrod said, shaking his head. "Makes it worse."

"Is it easing off now?"

"Yeah. I let it have its way, and it seems to go easier. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry to me about."

Jarrod began to breathe better and to straighten up.

"Doing better?"

Jarrod nodded. "Thanks."

Heath decided to change the subject. "The army meeting went okay?"

"Went fine," Jarrod said, finally looking up. "Everything went fine. I even won a hundred dollars playing poker."

Heath squeezed his brother's shoulder. "Why don't you take it easy there for a minute while I put this tack back up and get Jingo unsaddled?"

"I can do it," Jarrod said.

"I know you can, but if we take too long in here, Maggie's gonna come out, and I don't think you want her to see the results of your rampage. The horses are getting a bit unhappy, too."

"All right," Jarrod said. "Thanks."

Heath got up and began to get everything back in order, but suddenly he found himself trembling as he did it. He never liked seeing Jarrod explode – Jarrod kept the lid on so tight most of the time that when it blew, it really blew. But now – with the angina and everything else -

Heath got himself together before he finished getting everything else together. Jarrod stood up as Heath finished unsaddling and unbridling Jingo.

"I'll let Jingo cool down and come back out in a bit to groom him," Jarrod said.

"All right," Heath said. "I told Maggie I'd come back in and say good-bye."

Jarrod nodded.

"What should I tell Nick about the army?"

"Twenty dollars a head, five hundred head, in 45 days in Modesto."

"That's darned good. Saves us a longer drive, too."

Jarrod nodded. "It's pretty much what Nick wanted."

Heath managed a smile. "Life is always easier when Nick gets what he wants."

He did his best to get a smile out of his brother. Jarrod finally gave him one.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was a minute or two more before Jarrod felt up to walking to the house unaided. He didn't want Maggie to see him coming back from town with an angina attack, or she might never let him go out on his own again. Heath walked along beside him, but he didn't stay long inside, just long enough to bid Maggie good-bye, and then he was off.

"Things go well in town?" Maggie asked.

Jarrod leaned in to kiss her. "Very well. Got what Nick wanted from the army, and I won a hundred dollars at poker."

Maggie laughed. "Don't go turning into a professional gambler on me."

"Not a chance," Jarrod said. "Did you have a nice visit with Heath?"

"Brief, but nice. He told me a bit more about his history, where he came from."

Jarrod nodded. "Well, I've always thought that was for Heath to talk about, not me."

"I understand. He was very sweet about it. He just wanted me to know how welcoming a family you have, that once a Barkley, always a Barkley."

"He must have been listening to us on the back porch the other night."

"Maybe, or maybe our moving just prompted the same thoughts in them as it did in us."

Jarrod looked at his wife and kissed her again. And he felt ashamed about his tantrum in the barn. How could he ever curse his fate when Maggie was part of it? "I expect we'd better have a serious talk with them before too much longer. I need to settle my mind – I know you do, too."

"Tomorrow," Maggie said. "We'll go over for drinks and dinner tomorrow, and we'll tell them everything – how our finances are, and our wills. I suppose we'd better talk about godparents for Jarrod Jr. too. We should really work everything we can out before this baby gets too much closer."

Jarrod nodded and took Maggie into his arms. She was absolutely right, they should discuss everything, open and honestly, with his family. "You need to know that I don't feel like I'm anywhere near leaving you yet, but I did have another angina attack in the barn."

Maggie smiled. "I know. It always shows in your eyes, Jarrod."

"My eyes?"

"That and the fact that your knees are dirty and you have hay on your butt. You can't keep any secrets from me."

Jarrod chuckled. "Never again, my love. I had a pretty good temper tantrum, too."

"It's about time," Maggie said.

Jarrod chuckled. "Heath said the same thing. But I'm ashamed of it. It hurt, it didn't help."

"I'm not surprised."

"I won't let it happen again."

"That's a promise you won't be able to keep. It's natural to be angry."

"Still, I don't like it."

"Neither do I, but if it happens, it's probably best if you don't fight it. And getting back to the other subject, it is time we did the responsible thing. We need to plan for any contingency we can – even the possibility that I might be leaving you."

"No," Jarrod said flatly, looking very seriously at her. "No, that isn't possible."

"It is," Maggie said. "A lot of women die in childbirth, Jarrod."

"Not you," Jarrod said, shaking his head. "Not you." He pulled her close. "But you're right. If we're going to be responsible, we'd better be as responsible as we can get."

Maggie chuckled at a thought. "We should be responsible about being responsible?"

Jarrod shared her smile. "The most responsible responsible people who were ever responsible."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Well, looks like everybody's here!" Jarrod said cheerfully, tossing his hat on the table in the foyer and leading his wife by the hand into the living room.

"Jarrod!" Victoria said and stood up from the settee.

Audra had been sitting beside her, with Carl behind them and Nick and Heath at the refreshment table. Many handshakes and hugs followed at Jarrod and Maggie's surprise visit, and Nick poured scotch for Jarrod and a bit of wine for Maggie. Maggie sat down gingerly into one of the armchairs – sitting down was beginning to be a chore. Jarrod stood behind her, his hand on her shoulder. She could feel him trembling a bit, and he could feel her doing the same. They gave each other reassuring smiles.

"So, how do you like The Grove?" Audra asked. "Are you settling in?"

"As soon as I remember where we keep the coffee cups," Jarrod said.

"Thanks for taking care of those talks with the army, big brother," Nick said. "You got a good deal."

"I'll bring the paperwork by tomorrow," Jarrod said. "I'll meet with the army representative the day after, so be sure you can be here around lunchtime, all right?"

"I'll be here," Nick said. "And how is my favorite sister-in-law feeling these days?"

Maggie smiled. "Big. This baby is going to be a whopper."

"He's a Barkley," Nick said.

"He's a Barkley and a half," Jarrod said. "Carl, how are you enjoying life with our spoiled little sister?"

"I'm not spoiled!" Audra protested.

Carl said, "She's probably a little more spoiled than she already was, but she takes good care of me, too. And I never ate so well."

Nick nearly choked on his drink. "Audra can cook?"

"You just never appreciated me," Audra said.

They exchanged lots of chit-chat for the next half hour or so, until Jarrod and Maggie exchanged looks and decided it was time for that serious talk. They wanted to do it once and be settled with everything they could think of forever. Since Carl and Audra were also here, this was the ideal time. They said all that to each other through their eyes.

Jarrod said, "Maggie and I have been feeling a lot more like responsible adults now that we're in our own home. We won't be moving again. We're settled into our accommodations, and we've been talking about other things. We'd like to discuss some things with everybody."

Unease went around the room, but Jarrod and Maggie both smiled at everyone.

Jarrod said, "We have a baby coming. One of the things we wanted to talk about was who Jarrod Jr.'s godparents are going to be."

Smiles went all around then.

"Audra, Nick," Jarrod said. "Will you consent to be his godparents?"

Smiles grew. "I'd be thrilled, " Audra said.

"Me, too," Nick said.

"Well, keep in mind, he's going to be a handful. He already is. But that leads us into the more serious responsible part of our thinking."

Jarrod took a deep breath. Maggie squeezed his hand on her shoulder.

Jarrod went on. "Maybe we've avoided the truth among all of us, but Maggie and I have had some thorough discussions about it. I'm doing quite well, but it won't last. I don't know how long I'll be able to share our baby's life, and it would settle my mind a lot if I could know that his life and Maggie's life have at least some certainty about them when I'm gone."

The smiles faded, but no one dodged the discussion. Victoria looked at Nick and Heath, and their eyes told her to go on, to talk about what they had talked about privately. Victoria said, "It's something we've talked about, too – Nick and Heath and I. Before I talked to the two of you about it, I needed to be sure we were all together on this, and we are. Maggie – you're a part of this family forever, no matter what happens. If the day comes that you'd feel more comfortable moving back into this house, you are most welcome. If you want to stay at The Grove, we'll do everything we can to make you feel comfortable and safe there. Even if you decide to go back to San Francisco, you will always be one of us. Whatever you want, whatever you need, we will take care of you and the baby, for as long as you need us."

Jarrod and Maggie both felt tears coming. Jarrod squeezed Maggie's shoulder, and she squeezed his hand. "Thank you. Thank you so much," Maggie said. "But, you know, childbirth can be difficult for a woman, and there is a possibility that Jarrod will be trying to raise this rambunctious little man on his own."

"Well, I don't know about taking Jarrod back – " Nick said quietly, letting his eyes sparkle at his older brother.

"He's welcome here, too," Victoria said, "and if for some reason you wanted it, we'd take you both back."

Jarrod said, "Thank you. You should also know that as far as money goes, Maggie and I are well situated with the bank in Stockton. And our wills are drawn up and on file with the Clerk in town. We've put together written instructions I have in my desk at The Grove, for other things, like details about things. We've tried to take care of as much as we can so that no matter what happens or when it happens, we'll all know what to do."

"You know," Carl said, looking at his wife, "these are things we ought to be thinking about, too."

"You should have new wills, now that you're married," Jarrod said. "Your old ones are no longer valid. We can get together sometime next week and I'll draw them up for you."

"Just like a lawyer," Heath said. "Always on the lookout for business."

A bit of laugher finally came through. "You get the family rate," Jarrod said, "which is zero, I might add."

"Well, since I'm about to become a grandmother," Victoria said, "I might want to revisit my will as well."

"We might as well all do it," Heath said. "Keep Jarrod busy and out of trouble for a few days."

Jarrod raised his scotch. "Then it looks like it's settled. Any other legalities we need to talk about, we can take care of next week. Now, let's toast all the responsible adults gathered in this room."

"Here, here," Victoria said.

XXXXXX

As they left in their buggy to go home after dinner, the last light fading in the sky, Maggie let her head rest against Jarrod's shoulder. "That went pretty well, didn't it?" she asked.

"Mm-hmm," Jarrod said. "We probably should have known Mother had already taken the bull by the horns with Nick and Heath and that she wanted to talk about it, too."

"Quite a woman, your mother."

"Yes, she is," Jarrod said. "And my wife is quite a woman, too. I can't believe how lucky I am."

"I can't believe how lucky I am," Maggie said.

"We're going to be all right, you know – you, me, and Jarrod Jr. We're going to be all right for quite a while."

"I know," Maggie said.

Jarrod kissed her on top of the head.

Suddenly, Clara just stopped, the buggy jerking to a stop with her. Just before Jarrod could snap the reins again, Clara fell over dead in the road, and twisted the buggy with her.

Jarrod pushed Maggie and jumped. They never even had time to scream.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Jarrod never lost consciousness, but it took him a moment to realize he'd hit a rock with his upper left arm when Clara dropped dead in the road and the buggy upset. His left arm was immediately paralyzed. He only had time to wonder if it was broken before he tried to get up and find his wife.

"Maggie?!" he yelled. "Maggie, answer me!"

She didn't.

Jarrod was frantic. There was still some light in the sky, but none here, so he couldn't see where his wife had landed. He prayed to God she wasn't under the buggy. He found his way there somehow, crawling through the dirt.

"Maggie? Maggie, where are you? Maggie!"

She still did not answer.

Jarrod felt for his sidearm, but then he remembered he hadn't brought one. He tried to get up and found his right knee was twisted, too.

"Maggie!" he yelled, his desperation growing every moment, his voice breaking apart with fear and grief.

He heard a moan, behind him, farther away from the buggy.

"Maggie!"

"Here," he heard her weak voice.

He tried to see her. It was too dark. "Talk to me!" he yelled and he remembered a time from years ago, when he'd been blinded and he was practicing following sounds. "Keep talking to me! I can find you!"

"Here," she just said again, weakly. "Here. Here."

Jarrod found her in less than a minute. She was about ten feet from the buggy, down a slight slope off the side of the road. She had landed in tall grass.

"Maggie," he said desperately. "Are you hurt? Where are you hurt?"

"My back," she moaned. "I've hurt my back."

"The baby – are you hurting inside? Are you bleeding anywhere?"

"I don't know," she said. "What happened?"

"Something happened to Clara. I think she just dropped dead and the buggy went over."

"Oh – " Maggie moaned. "I can't move. My back hurts too much."

"Don't try to move at all. Just stay still. I don't want you to do any more damage than there already is, all right?"

"Yes. How are we going to get help?"

"I'll get it, but you have to stay perfectly still until I get back, understand?"

"Yes," Maggie said and relaxed. "I won't move."

Jarrod felt her hair and kissed her there. "I don't know how long this is going to take. I'm going to get the blanket out of the back of the buggy for you if I can."

"All right."

"Give me a minute. I've hurt my knee."

"All right."

Jarrod scrambled back to the buggy as best he could, shaking like a leaf, praying for all he was worth that an angina attack would not hit him now. Found the back of the buggy, but the blanket wasn't there. It must have fallen out. He felt around the ground desperately for it.

He heard a sound. Another buggy, coming up behind him.

 _My God, they won't see us in the dark._

"Stop!" Jarrod yelled as loud as he could. He waved his arms wildly, trying to stand, trying to move, but he knee kept giving out. "Stop! Stop!"

It came to a stop just before it hit him. Jarrod heard Carl's voice and remembered, he and Maggie had left the house before Carl and Audra had.

"Carl – " Jarrod croaked and fell down.

"My God, Jarrod!" Carl yelled, and he and Audra were beside him in a moment. "What happened?"

"Where's Maggie?" Audra asked.

"Not far," Jarrod said, "down in the grass. Maggie?!"

"Here!" her voice came.

"Get the blanket out of the buggy," Carl told Audra. "Take it down to her. Tell her I'm going to fire my sidearm."

"Are we too far from the house for anyone to hear it?" Jarrod asked.

"I don't know," Carl said. "Won't find out until we try. How bad are you hurt?"

"Arm and knee," Jarrod said. "Maggie's hurt her back."

"What happened?" Carl asked again.

"Clara just dropped in the road, turned the buggy over," Jarrod said.

"I'm gonna fire my gun," Carl said, and he did it, three times, then a pause, then three times again. Then he said, "I'm gonna get the lantern out of the back of our buggy and get some light out here."

"Okay," Jarrod said.

Meanwhile, Audra had managed to find Maggie. "Maggie, it's Audra, I've brought a blanket."

"I hope that was Carl shooting," Maggie said weakly.

"It was. We're trying to get help. How badly are you hurt?"

"I don't know," Maggie said. "My back hurts so much it's blotting everything else out."

"Did you lose consciousness?"

"No, and I don't feel any bleeding. I hope I just twisted my back."

"Don't try to move at all. I'm going to put this blanket over you."

"All right. Is Jarrod hurt?"

"Not badly, I don't think. You just try to relax. We'll get help somehow."

"Audra?!" Carl's voice came.

Audra looked up and saw Carl had a lantern lit. "Maggie, Carl has light up there. Can you see it without moving?"

"A little."

"You stay very still. I need to go up and see what he wants. I'll come back as soon as I can."

"All right."

Audra climbed back up to the road and met Carl where Jarrod and Maggie's buggy had turned over. He shone some light on it. They could see Clara dead in the road, the buggy on its side.

"We might be too far from the house for them to have heard the shots," Carl said. "I want to go back there and get help. Will you be all right out here? I'll leave you the lantern."

"How will you see your way on the road? How will anyone see you?" Audra asked, worried now about him, too.

Carl said, "I gotta take my chances. There shouldn't be anybody else out here, and if I'm careful, I should be able to see the road once I get out of this moon shadow."

"Is the moon up?"

"Just barely, but it's getting lighter out here." Carl kissed his wife and gave her the lantern. "Try to keep Jarrod and Maggie calm, get Jarrod back away from the buggy. His lantern is smashed, so it won't help you. Just keep light somewhere so it can light up the buggy and all of you, okay?"

"All right," Audra said. "Be careful."

Carl went back to Jarrod and helped him back around the buggy, then eased him down into the grass beside Audra and Maggie. "I'm on my way," he said, and soon they heard him driving away.

Maggie moaned.

"Maggie?" Jarrod said, reaching for her.

Audra held the lantern close to Maggie, looking for blood, but she saw none. She didn't know if that was good or bad.

"It's just my back," Maggie said. "I don't hurt in my abdomen, just my back."

Jarrod was practically in tears, and it wasn't from his injuries. "Try to stay still, sweetheart." He took the blanket Carl had found for him and laid it over the one already over Maggie.

Audra took her first look at Jarrod and saw that his arm was bleeding, all the way through his jacket. Quickly, she put the lantern down in the dirt at the edge of the road, lifted her skirt and ripped the bottom trim off her petticoat. Before Jarrod could object, she wrapped the fabric over Jarrod's jacket, around the place in his arm where the blood originated.

"I thought I just bruised it," Jarrod said.

"No, it's bleeding. This ought to stop it. But I don't see that Maggie is bleeding anywhere."

"Jarrod – " Maggie said.

He leaned close and touched her hair. "I'm right here. We're going to be all right as soon as we get some help."

"I'm awfully glad we had that talk with everybody about all the responsible things we've done," Maggie said.

Jarrod chuckled a little. "Timing is everything, isn't it?"

He looked at his sister's face in the lantern light. He couldn't see Maggie – she was in grass that was high and blocking the light from where the lantern was on the road. But what he saw in Audra's face was scary enough. He tried to give her a smile, leaned over and kissed her.

"Ah, Pappy," she said and smiled. "You just never change."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It took almost an hour, but help finally came, Nick and Heath leading about half a dozen of the ranch hands. They immediately sent two of the hands to town for the doctor with instructions to come to Jarrod's place, which was closer.

After they determined that Maggie could move her arms and legs and had no lack of feeling in them, they moved her gingerly onto a flat board and put her into the back of the buckboard they brought. She was stoic, but moving her onto the board really caused her back to spasm. Jarrod got himself inside the buckboard beside her.

"This is going to be a little bumpy," Jarrod said to his wife, "but we're closer to home than to the mansion, and it shouldn't take too long to get there."

Maggie said, "I understand. Are you all right?"

"Just minor stuff," Jarrod said.

The buckboard began to move, and Maggie immediately felt it in her back and grunted out loud.

Heath was driving. He said, "I'm sorry. It'll be easier to miss the ruts when we get out of this moon shadow."

"Where's Nick?" Jarrod asked.

"He went on to The Grove to get things ready for us. Carl and Audra went, too. We sent a couple hands for the doctor and he should be there soon, too."

Jarrod laid himself down beside his wife, keeping hold of her hand. He whispered into her ear. "You still don't feel any pain in your abdomen?"

"No, only my back," Maggie said. "I've strained it before, and it hurts like the devil. I can't move at all without – Owww!"

They'd hit another bump.

"Without ow," Maggie completed her sentence.

"You just rest, don't talk," Jarrod said. "We'll be home in a few minutes."

Heath finally drove out of the moon shadow created by the side of the hill, and he managed to see the bigger ruts before he hit them. He could not go any faster, but it was smoother, and they made it to The Grove within 15 minutes.

When they got there, they found Nick, Audra, Carl and a couple of the hands waiting for them. Jarrod climbed down out of the buckboard and Nick and Heath lifted Maggie out. With Carl's help, and grabbing onto whatever he could – hitching rail, porch support, whatever - Jarrod got himself into the house.

He saw his mother in the doorway of the bedroom. She obviously had ridden right by them on the road, wanting to get here before they did. He gave her as easy a smile as he could muster and made his way across the living room by holding onto whatever furniture he could grab.

He was headed to the bedroom, following Nick and Heath and Maggie, but Victoria met him near the sofa and put hands on him. "No farther, Jarrod. Sit down here and let me look at you."

Jarrod shook his head, but sat down on the sofa. "I'm all right. It's Maggie who needs you."

"I'll see to Maggie as soon as Nick and Heath get her off that stretcher," Victoria said. "Can you take your jacket off?"

Victoria pulled Audra's bandage off his arm, and he struggled out of his jacket, then took his shirt off that arm. Victoria told Audra to go into the bedroom and see to Maggie as Nick and Heath came out, carrying the board they had carried Maggie on. They gave it to a couple hands just outside the front door and told them to head on back to the mansion with it. Then Nick and Heath came back in.

Victoria got her first look at Jarrod's arm. It was still bleeding from a nasty gash that looked like it was going to need stitches. For now, she wanted to wrap it closed. "Where do you keep your first aid supplies?" she asked.

Jarrod actually knew the answer to that one. "Kitchen, lower cabinet just to the right of the door.

Nick went to fetch it.

Jarrod said, "Mother, Nick and Heath and Carl can help me. Please go in and see what Maggie needs."

Victoria looked up at Nick as he came back with the first aid supplies. He nodded. "All right, " Victoria said, "but you're bleeding pretty badly. Keep that arm still after they wrap it up."

"Yes, ma'am," Jarrod said and tried a smile.

Victoria went into the bedroom to see to Maggie.

Nick got the astringent and some cotton balls out of the first aid kit. "This is gonna sting, Pappy," he said and began to clean the wound.

Jarrod inhaled sharply, but did not cry out. He did not want Maggie to hear him and worry.

As soon as he cleaned the wound, Nick wrapped a strip of cloth from the first aid kit tightly around it, to try to keep it closed.

Heath saw Jarrod's trousers were torn down the right leg, below the knee Jarrod had twisted. Since the trousers were already ruined, Heath just tore them up beyond Jarrod's knee.

That hurt. Jarrod bit his lip and squeezed his eyes closed.

Heath saw swelling and redness in that knee, and he carefully felt it. "Looks like you got a dislocation. You ready for me to try to pop it back into place?"

Nick took his wallet out and handed it down to Jarrod. Jarrod looked like he really didn't want to bite a wallet, but it was handy. "Go ahead," he said, put the wallet in his mouth and bit down hard.

It took less than thirty seconds for Heath to pop Jarrod's knee back into place and make sure it was right, but to Jarrod it felt like an hour. When it was done, the wallet just fell out of his mouth, and he went limp.

"I think we lost him," Carl said.

Nick and Heath eased him back to lie down. "Yeah, he's out," Nick said. "I'm gonna slip a sling on that arm, keep it elevated," Nick said and searched the first aid kit for a sling. There was enough in the way of strips of cloth to do the trick. Heath helped move Jarrod around enough for Nick to put the sling in place.

Then there wasn't much to do except stand and stare at him and at each other.

Carl said, "I'll go make some coffee. We might be here for a while." And he went into the kitchen and started looking for things.

Heath looked at Nick and spoke quietly. "Maggie was in a lot of pain, Nick."

Nick nodded. "I hope the baby's all right. It'll kill Jarrod if anything happens to the baby or to Maggie."

They looked at each other. It actually could kill Jarrod if anything happened to his wife or child. Heath sighed and looked down at his older brother. "At least he didn't have an angina attack."

Nick suddenly looked stricken. He quickly put his hand on Jarrod's chest and relaxed when he felt a decent heartbeat. For a moment there, Nick was afraid -

Jarrod stirred. "Maggie – "

"She's all right, Jarrod," Heath said. "We're home, and the doctor should be here any minute."

Jarrod opened his eyes and immediately remembered what happened. "Did I pass out?"

"Yeah, for a minute. We hurt you quite a bit when Heath popped your knee back in," Nick said, "and you've lost a lot of blood. You best just stay as you are until the doc gets here."

"Where's Maggie?"

"In the bedroom. Mother and Audra are with her."

Jarrod sighed and breathed easier. Then he said, "At least you know where the bank accounts and the wills are."

Nick snorted, and Heath smiled. "I don't think we're gonna need them," Heath said.

The doctor arrived a few minutes later and went straight in to Maggie. Victoria and Audra stayed in there, too, and Jarrod stayed lying on the sofa, worrying, while his brothers paced aimlessly and his brother-in-law tended the coffee. After what seemed like forever, the doctor came out and knelt down in front of the sofa to tend to Jarrod.

"How's Maggie?" Jarrod asked quickly.

"Looks like she just has a back strain," Dr. Merar said. "Very painful but not serious. She has plenty of feeling in her legs and arms."

"What about the baby?"

"I don't think she's had any damage there. There's no bleeding, but I'll want to keep checking on her every day for a while. I think everything is going to be all right, but she's going to have to stay in bed for at least a week and you're going to need help with her, because from the looks of you, you're not gonna be able to take much care of her or yourself. Let me look at that arm."

Victoria came out then. She managed a smile for her oldest as the doctor unwound the bandages around his arm.

The doctor said, "Yeah, you need a few stitches."

Jarrod stayed silent through everything as the doctor gave him a shot and then put the stiches in to close the wound in his arm. He rebandaged it and put his arm into a better sling than Nick was able to manage, then he looked Jarrod's knee.

Jarrod winced and squeezed his eyes closed as the doctor probed his knee, but it was over fast. "Who popped it back into place?" the doctor asked.

"I did," Heath said.

"Nice job," Dr. Merar said and wound a bandage tightly around it. "You're going to have to stay off this as much as possible but only for a day or two. That arm's going to need more mercy. I'll check it when I come to check on Maggie. Now – " He looked Jarrod firmly in the eye. "How's that heart?"

Jarrod looked startled for a moment, then his eyes cleared. "Fine."

"No pain?"

"No," Jarrod said. "Not that I've noticed, but I had my mind on other things."

Dr. Merar took his stethoscope out of his bag and listened to Jarrod's heart and lungs. Then he looked at each of Jarrod's hands. "Things seem all right," he said, and then he stood up and looked around at everyone. "These people are living under a lucky star."

Carl asked, "Doc, would you like some coffee?"

"A bit," the doctor said, and soon Carl handed him a cup about half full. He took it down in one large gulp and with one satisfied sigh.

Jarrod tried to get up. "I'd like to see Maggie."

"All right," Dr. Merar said. "She's falling asleep."

Heath was there to help Jarrod up and into the bedroom. Audra was sitting beside the bed, but she smiled and left as soon as Jarrod and Heath came in. Heath helped Jarrod to the bed, and he sat down on what was his side of it.

"You want your boots off?" Heath asked.

Jarrod nodded, and Heath pulled his boots off for him. "Thanks, Heath," he said and painfully pulled his legs into the bed, to lie beside his wife.

Heath went out, and Jarrod kissed his wife. Maggie was awake enough to smile. "That was nice," she whispered.

"How are you feeling?" Jarrod asked.

"Dr. Merar gave me a lovely pill," she said. "Makes me a little sleepy, but my back is much better. He thinks the baby is all right."

"He told me. But you'll be in bed for a while."

"I know. How are you?"

"Oh, a few stitches and a couple bandages and I'm fine."

"Good. Let's sleep, Jarrod."

Jarrod laid his head on the pillow. "I'm for that. I'm here if you need me."

"I'm here if you need me," Maggie slurred the words and drifted off.

Jarrod smiled and kissed her hair, and soon he was asleep, too.


	7. Chapter 7

Epilogue

When Jarrod woke up the next morning, he left Maggie to sleep some more. He picked up his boots and crept out of the bedroom as best he could on a still painful knee, and he was astonished to find all of his family members still there in the living room

"You could have gone home," he said right away.

Nick came and gave him a hand to the sofa. "Who would have put your boots on?" he said and set about doing that.

Victoria had already made breakfast. Jarrod could see she was clearing away dishes from the table. Audra was in the kitchen, doing the washing. Carl was beside her, doing the drying.

"How is Maggie this morning?" Victoria asked.

"Still sleeping," Jarrod said. "She did pretty well during the night – I think. I was out like a light."

"I didn't hear a peep out of either one of you," Heath said.

"I think we're gonna be okay," Jarrod said.

"Maybe, but you still need some extra hands for a while," Audra said from the kitchen. "Maggie needs to stay in bed, and you can't do dishes with one hand."

"Audra and I will be staying for a while," Victoria said.

"If you want to clean up and get into some clean clothes after you eat, Nick and I will help you," Heath said.

"I gotta meet with the army tomorrow," Jarrod said.

"I got it," Nick said. "I found the papers on your desk and signed them. I'll go meet with the army tomorrow."

Jarrod closed his eyes. He thought he was going to cry, he was so relieved and grateful to have them all around. "Thank you," was all he could think to say.

XXXXXX

Dr. Merar came every day for a week, and every day he found things improving. Jarrod was able to hobble around pretty well after a couple days, and he was rid of the sling a couple days later. By the end of the week, the only things that remained were the stitches, and they were due to come out a few days later.

What made Jarrod most grateful, though, was that Maggie showed no signs of losing the baby or suffering any injuries at all except for a strained back. Even that was easing up fast. She was able to get up and move around with help after about five days, and she was on her own by the end of the week.

"But no more than what it takes to take care of your personal needs!" Dr. Merar warned. "You should still take your meals in bed and rest as much as you can."

"I'll do that," Maggie said. "I don't mind being waited on hand and foot."

Dr. Merar looked from Maggie to Jarrod and shook his head. "You both are very, very lucky. That buggy accident could have been a disaster for you."

"But it wasn't," Jarrod said, "and I haven't had an angina attack lately, either."

Dr. Merar clapped him on his good arm. "Keep it up. I'll be back in about three days to take those stitches out, Jarrod, and to check on you, Maggie. Otherwise, just take it easy."

"Will do," Jarrod said and walked him to the door.

Victoria was coming in with a basket of food as Dr. Merar left. "Hello, Doctor, how are the patients today?"

"Doing very well," Dr. Merar said. "I can see they've had a good nurse."

Dr. Merar went to his buggy, unhitched it and went on his way.

Jarrod peeked into the basket his mother was carrying. "Silas's chicken salad?" he asked.

"And fresh bread and apple pie," Victoria said.

"You're spoiling us rotten," Jarrod said, and then he noticed – there was still a buggy hitched up, and his mother's saddle horse was tied to the back of it. His mouth fell open. "What's this?"

Victoria smiled. "You need a new buggy and a new draft horse. We decided to get them for you."

"Oh, Mother, you didn't have to do that!"

"I know we didn't. But we did it anyway."

Jarrod threw his good arm around his mother and pulled her close. "Oh, Mother, if you knew how lucky I know I am."

"I know how lucky I am, " Victoria said and handed Jarrod the basket. "Now, let me go visit with that wife of yours while you get lunch ready."

Jarrod laughed. "You don't know how happy I am that I can do that!"

"Get used to it," Victoria said. "It's not unusual for a first time mother to be put to bed for a week or two before she delivers."

Jarrod winced.

The End


End file.
